HONG KONG - Hong Kong saw the value of total exports of goods in February up 1.7 percent from the same period last year and the value of imports of goods down 3.2 percent, statistics showed on Tuesday.As the trade flows in January and February of each year tend to show considerable volatilities due to difference in timing of the Lunar New Year holidays, it is useful to analyze the trade figures of the two months together, according to the Census and Statistics Departments of the government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.Taking January and February as a whole to neutralize the distortion caused by the difference in timing of the Lunar New Year holidays, the value of total exports of goods gained by 10.7 percent year on year. The value of imports of goods rose by 10.5 percent. A visible trade deficit of HK$74.4 billion, equivalent to 11.1 percent of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in the first two months.In February, the value of total exports of goods rose by 1.7 percent over a year earlier to HK$245.7 billion, after a year-on-year increase of 18.1 percent in January. The value of imports of goods shrank by 3.2 percent over a year earlier to HK$288.5 billion in February, after a year-on-year rise of 23.8 percent in January. A visible trade deficit of HK$42.7 billion, equivalent to 14.8 percent of the value of imports of goods, was recorded.A government spokesman said external merchandise trade performed well in the beginning of this year amid the solid expansion of the global economy.Taking the first two months together, the value of merchandise exports picked up to show double-digit growth over a year earlier, with major markets generally registering notable gains, the spokesman said. personalised fabric wristbandsblack rubber wristbands
A Meituan delivery driver prepares to hit the road to deliver a meal. [Photo/VCG] Meituan, a major meal delivery company, was criticized for discriminatory hiring policies against hepatitis B virus carriers. According to a report by thepaper.cn on Monday, a man in East China's Jiangxi province tried to apply for a part-time job as a Meituan deliveryman in May. When he checked the terms of the food delivery service, he found that a provision prohibited carriers of viral hepatitis from applying for the job. Therefore, he quit his application. The man's experience drew attention from Yi You Charity, a NGO that focuses on issues of discrimination against HBV carriers. Lei Chuang, the founder of Yi You Charity, said that Meituan's description of hepatitis carriers is discriminatory against people infected with hepatitis B and might worsen the prejudice against them. Only people with hepatitis A virus and E virus are banned from engaging in food-related industries, according to a 2016 disease list issued by the former National Health and Family Planning Commission (now the National Health Commission). HBV is spread through the exchange of bodily fluids, such as contaminated blood, unprotected sex, shared needles and from mother to children. It cannot be contracted through normal contacts, such as shaking hands or hugging. Statistics show that more than 100 million people in China, roughly 10 percent of the total population, are chronic carriers of the disease. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the hepatitis B virus among the general public. A survey in 2017 suggested that about one in three people believed HBV can be contracted through working or dining together. A 2011 survey indicated that 60 percent of the country's 180 State-run companies polled included HBV checks in their pre-employment physical examinations.
